Meloni pledges zero tolerance on caporalato, confirms tax cut for contract renewals at UIL congress
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told the UIL congress in Padua that workplace safety is a measure of national civilisation, promising zero tolerance for illegal gangmasters and confirming a 5% tax cut on pay rises from collective bargaining will be renewed in the next budget.
Workplace safety and the memory of Luana D'Orazio
Meloni opened her address by embracing Emma Marrazzo, mother of Luana D'Orazio, the 22-year-old textile worker killed at her factory in 2021. The prime minister said more than 1,000 workers still die on the job each year, calling each death "a defeat for all of us". She declared that a nation's civilisation is measured by how it treats safety at work and announced strengthened inspections, with the state "present inside workplaces as it has not been for a long time".
Workplace safety is an inalienable right; the civilisation of a nation is measured by this priority.
Zero tolerance on caporalato
Meloni addressed the exploitation of labourers by illegal gangmasters, known as caporali, following the deaths of farmworkers in Amendolara. She said the government line is "zero tolerance against caporali and against the criminal organisations that too often hide behind them and speculate on people's skin". She added that those criminal organisations are "very likely not only foreign".
On caporalato the government's line has been and will continue to be very clear. And that line is: zero tolerance against caporali.
Fair wage versus minimum wage
Meloni reiterated her opposition to a statutory minimum wage, arguing it would erode existing protections and worsen working conditions. Instead she championed the "fair wage" concept, tying it to the economic treatment set by national collective agreements signed by the most representative unions. She described it as "a victory for all Italian workers and for the nation as a whole". She noted that UIL secretary Pierpaolo Bombardieri had already called the policy a UIL victory.
Tax relief on contractual increases
Confirming the government will extend the 5% detaxation of pay increases coming from private-sector contract renewals, Meloni said she had already spoken with Labour Minister Calderone and Economy Minister Giorgetti. She described the measure as effective and one the government wants to make stable and permanent. She also mentioned the possibility of extending the points-based licence system to other sectors beyond its current scope.
We have decided to support private-sector contract renewals with a 5% detaxation of the increases, a measure requested by the UIL and the social partners because it strengthens the link between productivity and wages.
Employment data and European vision
Meloni highlighted what she called encouraging data: a record-high employment rate, historically low general and youth unemployment, and 1.2 million more stable contracts since the start of the legislature. She said net pay for millions of middle- and low-income workers had risen by between 1,500 and 2,400 euros a year, thanks to the tax wedge cut and personal income tax reform, costing the state about 21 billion euros annually in forgone revenue. On foreign policy, she called on Europe to lead with greater strategic autonomy on energy, advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence to safeguard national competitiveness.
